Lavender Cultivation Bringing Prospertity To Home

With lavender cultivation becoming a profitable proposition, many farmers in the mountainous regions of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) are turning towards planting the ‘purple gold’.
Thousands of farmers in J&K are opting for lavender cultivation. According to official statistics, as many as 5,000 entrepreneurs (farmers) are cultivating lavender on more than 200 acres of land. This has led to 4-5 times increase in their economy.
Farmers in J&K have traditionally been growing cereals such as maize, rice and millets which won’t get them good returns. But opting for lavender cultivation has proved profitable to them.
Lavender cultivation, also known as ‘Purple Revolution’, is an initiative the Central government has taken to improve the income of farmers in J&K. Since then, many farmers have given up traditional farming and switched to lavender cultivation.
Aroma Mission or Purple Revolution, which is transforming the lives of UT’s farmers, was launched in the year 2016 by the then Union Ministry of Science & Technology through the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Aroma mission supported by Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu.
It aims to support domestic aromatic crop-based agro-economy by switching from imported aromatic oils to home-grown varieties. Under the mission, first-time farmers were given free lavender saplings, while those who had cultivated lavender before were charged Rs 5 to 6 per sapling.
The lavender cultivation is being practiced in almost all 20 districts of J&K and farmers are happy with farming of unconventional aromatic plants.
The CSIR Aroma Mission is envisaged to bring transformative change in the aroma sector through desired interventions in the areas of agriculture, processing and product development for fuelling the growth of aroma industry and rural employment. It is expected to enable Indian farmers and the aroma industry to become global leaders in the production and export of some essential oils in the pattern of menthol mint.
What is the Purple Revolution?
About:
The Purple or Lavender Revolution was launched in 2016 by the Union Ministry of Science & Technology through the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Aroma Mission.
Lavender cultivation is practiced in almost all the 20 districts of Jammu & Kashmir.
Under the mission, first-time farmers were given free lavender saplings, while those who had cultivated lavender before were charged Rs. 5-6 per sapling.
Aim:
To support domestic aromatic crop based agro economy by moving from imported aromatic oils to homegrown varieties.
Products:
Main product is Lavender oil which sells for at least Rs. 10,000 per litre.
Lavender water, which separates from lavender oil, is used to make incense sticks.
Hydrosol, which is formed after distillation from the flowers, is used to make soaps and room fresheners.
Significance:
It is in sync with the government policy of doubling farm incomes by 2022.
It will help in providing means of livelihood to budding farmers and agri-entrepreneurs and give a boost to Start-Up India campaign and promote a spirit of entrepreneurship in the region.
• Over 500 youth had taken benefit from the purple revolution and augmented their income many-fold.
What is an Aroma Mission?
About:
The CSIR Aroma Mission is envisaged to bring transformative change in the aroma sector through desired interventions in the areas of agriculture, processing and product development for fuelling the growth of aroma industry and rural employment.
The mission will promote the cultivation of aromatic crops for essential oils that are in great demand by the aroma industry.
It is expected to enable Indian farmers and the aroma industry to become global leaders in the production and export of some other essential oils in the pattern of menthol mint.
It aims to provide substantial benefits to the farmers in achieving higher profits, utilization of waste lands and protection of their crops from wild and grazing animals.
Aroma Mission Phase-I and II:
During Phase-I, CSIR helped cultivate 6000 hectares of land and covered 46 Aspirational districts across the country. Further, more than 44,000 people were trained.
On 9th February 2021 CSIR launched Phase-II of Aroma Mission in which it is proposed to engage over 45,000 skilled human resources and will benefit more than 75,000 farming families across the country.
Nodal Agencies:
The nodal laboratory is CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow.
Outcomes:
Bring about 5500 ha of additional area under captive cultivation of aromatic cash crops particularly targeting rain-fed /degraded land across the country.
Provide technical and infrastructural support for distillation and values-addition to farmers/growers all over the country.
Enabling effective buy-back mechanisms to assure remunerative prices to the farmers/growers.
Value-addition to essential oils and aroma ingredients for their integration in global trade and economy.
According to the Lavender farmers, selling of around one litre of its oil fetches them Rs 20,000. The lavender grown over one hectare of land gives a minimum of 40 litre of lavender oil. Moreover, lavender water, which separates from lavender oil, is used to make incense sticks and hydrosol, which is formed after distillation from the flowers, is used to make soap and room freshener.
IIIM-Jammu even helps farmers to sell their produce. Many private companies also procure lavender extracts from the farmers directly. Notably, Doda district is leading the way, where four distillation units have been set up by CSIR-IIIM, Jammu. Farmers from remote areas of the district reach these plants for extraction of lavender oil. More than 800 progressive farmers of Doda have adopted aromatic cultivation.